Reclaiming rubber products.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ORRIN A. WHEELER. OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO EDWARD LOWENTHAL AND ONE-THIRD TO BERTHOLD LOWENTHAL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

RECLAIMINGRUBBER raontrors. v

No Drawing.

To all whom 1? may concern Be it known that I, ORRIN A. \VHEELER, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Reclaiming Rubber Products, of which the following is 'a full, clear, and exact description.

The invention relates to the manufacture of rubber compound or products and designs more particularly to utilize waste products containing cellulose and rubber, such as automobile tires, air-brake hose, etc.

Heretofore, it has been common practice in reclaiming rubber, to reduce or grind the material and to mechanically separate the cellulose'from the rubber or to remove it by the action of a suitable acid or chemical treatment.

The present invention, as distinguished from the foregoing practice, designs to utilize both thecellulose and the rubber'in the material to be recla-imed,' so that in lieu of removing the cellulose, it will be utilized in the product containing the reclaimed stock, and this purposeis accomplished by converting the cellulose into a structureless plastic cellulose, which remaining in the product, will serve as an eiiic'ient filler or constituent of the product. p

In carrying out the invention, the waste or scrap product containing cellulose, for example, pneumatic tires, air brake hose or any other product containing cellulose and rubber, is reduced to a pulverized state;. then the mass, Without separation of the cellulose from the rubber,.is treated with a cellulose solvent, for example; cu 'raammonium or cupric-oxid ammonia. n practice, from one to three pounds of cupricoxid ammonia willact' as a solvent and treat about one pound of cellulose in the pulverized mass, and will render the cellulose plastic.

After the cellulose has been rendered plastic -'in this manner, this mass is then placed in a de-vulcanizer and treated with steam. Next the mass is thoroughly washed to remove any unspent solvent in the mass. The mass can then be mixed with new rubber-if desired-or may be vulcanized without the addition of new rubber, according to the quality of the product desired, this step be- Specification of Letters Patent Application filed October 26. 1910. Serial No.

product, and in which the cellulose is so combined that the rubber with it will have maximum strength and the combined advantageous properties of hard rubber and cellulose, so that instead of the cellulose being an objectionable constituent, it will serve to render the product light and strong. The invention thus provides an improved lz'ltcntcd-Jan.7,1913.

method by which rubber-products containing' a cellulose, are reclaimed without removing the cellulose and in which the cellu lose, in a lastic structureless state, remains in the rec aimed product to give the latter maximum strength and to act as a filler or rubber substitute which improves the product.

, Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1; That improvement in reclaiming rubber containing'oel'lulose, which consists in treatingthe cellulose with a solvent and arresting the treatment when the cellulose is a coherent and tenacious, and leaving the cellulose in the rubber.

2. That improvement in reclaiming rubber containing cellulose, which consists in pulverizing the same, and then treating the pulverized mass with a cellulose solvent and arresting said treatment when the cellulose is coherent and tenacious, and without separating the cellulose from the rubber.

3.-That improvement in reclaiming rubber containing cellulose, which consists in pulverizing the same, then treating-the pulverized masswith a cellulose solvent and arresting said treatment when the cellulose is tenacious and coherent and without separating the cellulose from the rubber, and then vulcanizing themass to form a hard rubber product 4. That improvement in reclaiming. rubber containing cellulose, which consists in treating the cellulose with cupra-ammonium, and arresting the treatment when said claimed rubber cellulose which has been cellulose 1s coherent and tenaclous and W1thtxeated Wlllll :1 solvent to render 1t tenacwus out separatmg the cellulose from the rubber. and coherent.

5. A compound containing reclaimed rub- ()RHIN A. WHEELER 5 her and cellulose which has been treated Witnesses:

with a solvent to render it tenacious. HILDUR C. PETERSEN,

6. A hard rubber product containing re- FRANK W. BENSON.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Pgl'centfi,

Washington, D. C. 

